Roller bearing



45 curved flange thereon, having its inner face Patented'July 9,1935 t I HROLLER BEARING Karl L. Herrmann, South Bend, Ind. Application October '12, 1933, Serial No. 693,231 7 {Claims (o1. ads-.214

' The principal object of this invention is to ing' todetails of construction and methods of provide an improved tapered roller bearing in manufacture will be apparent from the descripwhich the rollers are maintained in their proper tiOn o o a d the a omp y drawing axial alignment to thus preserve the mathamatiwhich illustrates one embodiment of the inven cally correct rolling motion of the rollers relative t ni i 5 m therace-ways, 'I-Ieretofore there have been two types of ta- I A further object is to so form a shoulder or pered o r n s nst u t d t p ovide for flange on one of the race members that the ends alignment Of the rollers relative s the a e of each of the rollers contacting therewith will m e one Of these designfi p v d or a 10 ab t against the sho t t' Separated single point contact on the end face of the roller 10 points, the central contact point taking the end against h a ge On the inner race member; thrust of the respective roller and'the two other While s orm eliminated some friction between points aligning the roller .to preserve its correct h roller and flange, t ere wesno means on the rolling motion relative to the race-ways. roller el'lmeeway to provide fertile a nment of I A further object is to provide a r t t the'rollerrelative to the race members so that it 15 curved shoulder on the inner race member was necessary 01' highly desirable to use 1'01181' against which the conical bases of each of the retaining Cages Which ga increased. the frictapered rollers abut at three separated points, tion n 1085 Of the advantage 0f Single P nt two of the contact points providing for sliding Contact Furthermore, this construction was not contact of the" roller against theshoulder, and suitable t a u roller ype bearing. The other 20 the third, intermediate point providing pivotal d n provided for ang Contact of the end contact only of the roller against the shoulder; 0f the roller against t flange 0n the inner race Another object is to provide a tapered roller. member aJttllVO' Separatedpeints a jac nt to the bearing in which the contact between the thrust Opposite edges of the thrust a t g end UNITED STATES IPIAQVTENT OFFICE- transmitting and guiding ends or bases of the face of the roller- In this type of hearing, as the 25 v rollers and adjacent face of the thrust resisting nd c of the roller Wears due to the idi and guiding flange or shoulde formed on t frictional contact with flange, the sliding point in race member made at three Separated contact changes to frictional'areas so that the points on each roller, one point being on the ad-Vantage Sought is largely 0st. transverse axis of the roller extending radially hearing manufactured n accordance with 30 of the bearing. 1 j my present invention has the advantages of both Another object is to provide a tapered roller 0f the types ea in s mentioned above withbearing in which the contact between the thrust out the disadvantages and jections inherent transmitting and guiding ends or bases of the them- It Wilibe pp t that the rollers and adjacent face of the thrust resisting contactpoint of the roller with the flange on 35 and guiding flange or shoulder'formed on the the transverse axis of the roller extending rainner race member is made at three separated dially of the bearing does not have the sliding points on each roller, one point of contact for frictional action encountered by the two sepaeach roller being at the intersection of its lon gited t t, points and as t end thmst of the Q thdihal axis and itstransverse 21x15 extending roller is directed against this central contact 40 dla y 0f t e beefing; point, the wear inherent in the type of bearing Stated briefly and in general terms, Iny e having the two separated contact points .is largely tion comprises an anti-friction bearing lncluding eliminated. Also because of the Contact points an inner race member formed with a reentrant ateopposite, sides of the central Contact points the froller is properly maintained with its mathe- .matically correct direction of its axis relative to the race members;

Referring to the drawing in which like numerals refer .to like parts throughout the several views,

shaped to contact with the thrust transmitting and guiding end of each tapered rollerat three separatedpoints, two ofthe points being adjacent to the'opposite edges of the end face of vthe roller to maintain the correct rollingmotion of the roller relative to the race members and the 1 1S Sectlonal Showmg Parts 9 the third point being on the transverse axis of the 111118? outer race g? one roller roller extending radially of the bearing to take posed 'therehetWeen, but mg a support for theend thrust of the roller. a: either of the race membe 7 a The above and other objects, and objects relatan enlarged fragmentary sect onal view better showing the relation of the roller to the inner race member.

Fig. 3 is an exaggerated sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing three separated points of contact between the end of the roller and the shoulder on the inner race member.

Fig. 4 is a. view of the roller looking in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 1, showing further the three points of contact with the shoulder on the inner race member.

Fig. 5 is an end view of one of the rollers, showing the three points adapted to contact with the shoulder on the inner race member and the shaded portions showing the areas between the contact points.

Referring to the drawing, Ihave-illustrated a bearing having an inner race member I provided with a conical roller bearing surface 2 and a reentrant curved shoulder 3 thereon, an outerrace member 4 provided with a conical roller bearing surface 5 and conical or tapered rollers 6 interposed between "the bearing surfaces 2 and 5. When assembled for use the conical surfaces 2 and 5 and the rollers 5 converge to the common point A. It is evident that under some conditions in use the rollers 5 will tend to back away from the point A so it is necessary or at least desirable to provide the shoulder 3 on the inner race member against which the outer ends of the rollers abut to maintain the rollers in properly engaged position between the race members.

While in the drawing I have not illustrated a complete bearing, it will be understood that I may employ either the full roller type or rollers spaced by a retainer or cage without in any way departing from the objects of my invention as the same contemplates a construction in which the base of each roller has contact at three separate points with a shoulder on one of therace members.

Irrespective of whethera retainer or cage is used to space the rollers or whether a full row of rollers is used, there is suiiicient clearance between the rollers to allow their axes to deviate to a small extent from their correct direction of intersecting at a common point. When the roller shifts from its correct position, it then loses its elemental line contact with the bearing surfaces 2 and 5 on the race members I and 4 becausethe extended longitudinal axis of; the rollers would not lie at the point A. To prevent or counteract the causes which might act to deviatethe rollers from the above-described correct direction of their axes, I have provided a construction which will permit the true rolling motion of the rollers relative to the race members. without friction losses inherent in many types of bearings and without apparent wear over a long period of time of the rollers and race members.

I preferably form the curved reentrant shoulder 3 of the race member I on an are '1 generated from a predetermined radius as indicated by the broken line H on Fig. 2. Also the end face of each roller is preferably formed to a slightly conical shape and to a suitable angle relative the side face thereof, as indicated by B in Fig. 2-, so that the roller has contact with the shoulder at a point C midway betweenthe bearing faces of the roller on its transverse axis extending radially of the bearing, as indicated by the line F of Fig. 5, and also at the points D. and E adjacent to the edges of-the end face thereof thus providing a three-point contact for 88.0 1 12 .161; against the curv d face of the. should whereby t e o s 6 are maintained in their mathematically correct position with their extended axes terminating at the common point A. While the end of the roller 6 is slightly conical, the arc is generated from a different center than the inner face of the reentrant shoulder 3 so that the end of the roller 6 between the contact points D and C and between the points 0 and E is out of contact with the shoulder, thus as the roller rotates and bears against the shoulder 3, a three point contact therewith is present at all times. If desired the shoulder 3 may be of sufficient depth so that the point C will fall on the longitudinal axis G of the roller; that is, at the intersection of the longitudinal axis G and the transverse axis F extending radially of the bearing. When the shoulder is formed of such depth that the bearing point C at the intersection of the longitudinal and transverse axis G and F of the roller, it will be apparent that the roller will have a true pivotal contact with the curved face 1 of the shoulder 3 at the point C, thus eliminating any friction or sliding of the roller relative to the race member at that point, and that the contact points D and E will function to maintain the roller in correct axial alignment relative to the race-ways.

As the end thrust of the respective rollers is exerted directly against the contact point C which is a true pivotal point of contact, relatively little wear of the rollers and curved face on the shoulder will occur, thus providing a bearing having long life and a minimum of friction. When the shoulder 3 is formed of a lesser depth than that just described so that the contact point C falls outside of the longitudinal axis of the roller, even then there will be very little sliding action of the roller relative to the curved face on the shoulder at that point and the friction between the respective parts is materially less than the friction produced in the bearings now in commercial use.

After long use should be contact points C, D and E wear to any extent, the purpose and objects of my invention will not be lost because even then there will be three distinct areas of contact between the end faces of the rollers and shoulder maintaining each of the rollers in the correct position. As it is desirable to provide the correct mathematical three-point contact of each roller ith the shoulder, I preferably lap the rollers in the bearing after the same have been ground, although such practice may not always be necessary provided all of the respective parts ar pr p rly gr un While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that detailed changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and my invention is to be limited only by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A roller comprising, an inner race member having a conical bearing surface and a fixed reentrant thrust shoulder thereon, an outer race member having a conical bearing surface, and tapered rollers interposed between said bearing surfaceshaving their conical. bases abutting against said reentrant shoulder at three separated points, one. of said contact points of each roller being on the longitudinal axis of said roller.

2. A roller bearing comprising, an inner race memb av ng a al hea in u fac nd a fixed reentrant thnistshoulder thereon, an outer ace m er hav ng a c nic l ring. surface, and tapered rollers interposed between said bearin-g surfaces having their conical bases abutting against said shoulder at three substantially equally spaced points, one of said contact points of each roller being at the intersection of the longitudinal and transverse axes of said roller.

3. A roller bearing comprising, an inner race member having a conical bearing surface and a fixed reentrant curved thrust shoulder thereon, the curve being generated from a point outside of said bearing, an outer race member'having a conical bearing surface, and tapered rollers interposed between said bearing surfaces having their conical bases abutting against said curved shoulder at three separated and substantially equal spaced points, one of said contact points of each roller being on the longitudinal axis of said roller. 4. A roller bwring comprising, inner and outer race members each having a conical bearing surface, one of said race members also having a reentrant curved shoulder thereon, and tapered rollers interposed between said bearing surfaces, each roller having its conical base abutting against said shoulder at a point on the transverse axis of the roller extending radially of the hearing and at points adjacent to the edges of the base of the roller to thus provide a three-point contact against said shoulder. 5. A roller bearing comprising, inner and outer race members each having a conical bearing surface, one of said race, members also having a reentrant curved shoulder thereon, and tapered rollers interposed between said bearing surfaces,

each roller having its conical base abutting against said shoulder at a point at the intersection of the longitudinal axis and the transverse axis of the roller extending radially of the bearing and at points adjacent to opposite edges of the base of the roller to thus provide .a threepoint contact against said shoulder;

6. A roller bearing comprising, an inner race member having a conical bearing surface and a fixed thrust shoulder, an outer race member having a conical bearing surface, and tapered rollers interposed. between said bearing surfaces, each roller having its base abutting against said shoulder at three separated and. substantially equal spaced points, one of said points being at the intersection of the longitudinal and transverse axes of the roller.

7. A roller bearing comprising, an inner race member having a conical bearing surface and a fixed reentrant curved thrust shoulder thereon, the curve being generated from a point outside of said bearing, an outer race member having a conical bearing surface, and tapered rollers interposed between said bearing. surfaces, each roller having a conical base abutting against said shoulder at three substantially equally spaced points, one of said points having pivotal contact only with said shoulder, and positioned to take the end thrust of said roller against said shoulder and the other two of said contact points aligning said roller in axial alignment relative to said race members.

KARL L. HERRMANN. 

